The level of scrutiny only increases this week for Aaron Mellette, the playmaking receiver who has evolved into Elon University’s best pro football prospect in decades.

For years, opposing defenses targeted him with double-coverages and specialized concentration.

Now the extra attention comes from the horde of NFL scouts, coaches and general managers who descend on the Senior Bowl.

“It’s a big opportunity for me to show I can play with the guys from some of the bigger schools,” Mellette told the Times-News. “I just look at it as another challenge, to just compete and show the scouts and GMs, ‘OK he’s no pushover. He can compete with the best of them.’ ”

On Saturday, Mellette will become the first Elon player to participate in the game for college all-stars in Mobile, Ala., that began in 1950.

He arrived there during the weekend and today starts a period of closely watched practices, workouts and interactions in and around Ladd-Peebles Stadium — essentially his latest step in the job interview process that leads into the NFL Draft.

The Senior Bowl roster is divided into North and South groups and coached by two NFL staffs. The Oakland Raiders and head coach Dennis Allen are in charge of Mellette’s North team. The Detroit Lions and head coach Jim Schwartz are directing the South team.

Mellette will be catching passes from North Carolina State quarterback Mike Glennon at some point this week. Glennon, Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib and Miami of Ohio’s Zac Dysert are the three quarterbacks listed on the North’s roster.

And the possibility of pairing the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Mellette alongside speed-burners such as Oregon’s Kenjon Barner, Michigan’s Denard Robinson and Oregon State’s Markus Wheaton — a couple of the North’s notable skill players — has to seem intriguing to those who saw the Elon receiver dominate the Football Championship Subdivision.

“The Senior Bowl, that speaks for itself. It’s the most prominent all-star game out there,” Mellette said. “So nobody’s going to go out there and take it easy.

“All these guys coming down here have to prove themselves. I look at it like an equal-opportunity thing to go out there and showcase that we’re ready to play at the next level.”

“The high-intensity training we’ve been doing, you can already see a drastic change in my skills,” Mellette said. “I look at it as this is what’s got to be done.

“And it’s very exciting. It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime thing to go through this whole process. At the end of the day after I’m done training, I make sure I sit back and enjoy what’s taking place.”

One night, that meant attending his first NBA game and watching LeBron James flirt with a triple-double while the Miami Heat beat the Minnesota Timberwolves.

But mostly Mellette likes to take in the vistas from the beachfront hotel where he has been staying.

“I see Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys. Everybody drives a Range Rover,” he said. “I guess it’s exactly what you think it’s like down here, a bunch of high-end stuff. People can’t drive down here, though.”